It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is LSU football fans. The Tigers have a lot of hype coming into the 2024 season. We're almost there. Another long college football offseason is almost over as the calendar now reads August, and the first games will begin on the 24th. College football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
First off, there are going to be some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you're getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans in favor of, but some still don't like them. College football is going to look completely different next year because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West, but they aren't actually in the conference.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams, and some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
LSU football has high hopes for 2024
Year one of the Brian Kelly era went surprisingly well as the Tigers ended up beating Alabama and they also made it all the way to the SEC title game. They were handily beaten by Georgia in that game, but making it that far was still something to celebrate.
After the success that LSU football found in that first season, the expectations for their 2023 season went through the roof. The Tigers were expected to be one of the best teams in the SEC and their goals were to win an SEC title and make the College Football Playoff. Those expectations seemed realistic, but they didn't meet them. Quarterback Jayden Daniels had a great year and won the Heisman, but there wasn't really much else to celebrate besides that.
Last season was still a solid one, but LSU football fans were expecting more than 9-3 when the season started. The Tigers were embarrassed in their season opener against Florida State, and they also lost to Alabama and Ole Miss. The good news for the Tigers is that they know exactly what they need to fix if they want to compete for championships this year: their defense.
LSU had one of the best offenses in college football last year as the best player in the country, Jayden Daniels, led the way. However, their defense couldn't stop anything and they gave up 45, 42 and 55 points in their three losses. It's hard to win football games when you're giving up that many points.
The good news for LSU is that their offense is probably going to be good enough to have a good year even if the defense continues to struggle. Yes, they do have to replace Heisman winner Jayden Daniels who is now in the NFL, but they have a lot of talented weapons on offense, and one of them is this transfer that is going to have a big impact.
CJ Daniels, WR, Liberty
![Liberty Flames wide receiver CJ Daniels (4) is tackled by Oregon Ducks defensive back Nikko Reed (25) and linebacker Jeffrey Bassa (2) during the first quarter of the 2024 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium.](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CJ-Daniels.jpg)
One Daniels is out, but another one is in. CJ Daniels transferred in the offseason from Liberty, and he was a weapon with the Flames. Daniels is bringing a lot of experience to LSU as he spent four seasons with Liberty, and he put up some absurd numbers. In 2023, he finished the year with 55 receptions for 1,067 yards and 10 touchdowns. Besides the 2022 season when he was only able to play three games, Daniels put up big numbers at Liberty every year.
LSU football will have a new quarterback this year obviously, and it is going to be Garrett Nussmeier. It might take him a little while to get acclimated, but having guys like CJ Daniels on the roster will be huge. Having elite weapons on the outside definitely makes a QB's life a lot easier, and Nussmeier will have a lot of talent to work with.
CJ Daniels has everything you're looking for in a transfer as his resume is near perfect. He has a lot of experience, and he excelled at his previous stop. The competition that he will see in the SEC will be tougher than what he saw at Liberty, but CJ Daniels and the Flames did play Oregon last year. Daniels had eight receptions for 79 yards, so that's a good sign.
There are a lot of good transfers that LSU football picked up this offseason as they added nine players from the transfer portal, but CJ Daniels has had an especially impressive career.